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The Toronto Maple Leafs took a big hit in their 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, as their top three centers all emerged dinged in a meaningless game against the perennial non-playoff club, and two of them will not be available for the finale of the Leafs five-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Tuesday.
The news regarded Ryan O’Reilly was better than expected after the news that the veteran center suffered a broken finger in Vancouver. Head coach Sheldon Keefe revealed that O’Reilly had surgery on his finger on Tuesday and that the expected timetable for his return is four weeks. The end of the regular season is April 13 (5 ½ weeks from now) which likely means that O’Reillt will be ready for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Auston Matthews did not show any ill effects on Monday after being struck on the inside of the right knee late in the first period on Saturday. Matthews centered the top line with Alex Kerfoot and Mitch Marner at practice and will be in the lineup, hoping to break out after struggling since returning from a knee injury in mid-February.
The news that could be more concerning is regarding John Tavares. The Leafs captain was labeled twice in the Canucks loss by Tyler Myers and Dakota Joshua, but continued in the contest and scored Toronto’s only goal. On Monday, Tavares was an extra skater at team practice and Keefe announced that he would not play against the Devils.
“He wasn’t feeling great. He wanted to see exactly where he was at. He got through it. He was feeling a little bit better than he thought.” Keefe said. “We just want to be sure. He got through the entire practice today and felt good, but more on our side of it than his, let’s just be cautious on this one. As long as he continues to progress well, he will be ready to go for Saturday.”
The two hard and high hits raise concerns since Tavares suffered a severe concussion in Game 1 of the playoffs against Montreal just less than two years ago and with the club locked into finishing either second or third in the Atlantic, it is wise for them to be extra careful
While the acquisition of versatile players was not expected to be put into action so soon, the injuries to Tavares and O’Reilly have forced Keefe to shake up his line combinations.
Sam Lafferty will take Tavares place between Calle Jarnkrok and William Nylander, David Kampf will move back to the third line with Zach Aston-Reese and Noel Acciari, and Michael Bunting will play with callups Pontus Holmberg and Alex Steeves.
It is expected that the Leafs will return to the traditional 12 F / 6 D lineup against New Jersey, with Timothy Liljegren returning to the lineup after missing two games and partnering with Morgan Rielly. Jake McCabe will remain with TJ Brodie, and Justin Holl was paired with Mark Giordano.
Luke Schenn was absent from practice on Monday due to personal reasons (his wife is due to give birth) and Erik Gustafsson and Conor Timmins are expected to be healthy scratches.
Former Caps goalies Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov are expected to be in goal.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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